“That night I got the holly, you told me to drop my knife before I hurt someone.”
“Well, I was worried you’d hurt me. But anyone else? They’re fair game.”
“I don’t really know how to use this,” I said, taking the weapon in spite of myself.
“You’ll figure it out—you’ve always been good at defending yourself. But here’s a tip to get you started: If someone attacks you, just point the blade away from you and start hacking.”
“I see. I didn’t know you had a second job as a weapons master.”
The strongest wave we’d hit so far tumbled us into each other. A few items nearby shifted violently, and I nearly stabbed Cedric. “Probably not a good idea to have that out with all these waves,” he said.
I tucked the blade away, knowing I’d have to conceal it carefully among my belongings lest I be caught with an Alanzan artifact. I glanced around us as the ship swayed. “Is it just a few waves? We got into this because the captain went to take the wheel, remember?”
I could see Cedric considering this, that maybe we should’ve paid more attention to why the stateroom we’d raided had been abandoned in the first place. “I’m sure it’s—” Another jolt sent us reeling, and a crate fell, smashing beside us. “I think we should go,” he said.
I followed him out of the cargo room as wave after powerful wave rocked us. With no formalities or care for who saw, he hurried me quickly down the corridor, taking me to the Glittering Court’s common room. Just before we entered, I pulled him back.
“Cedric . . . you never told me. What am I to you?”
“You are . . .” He started to lift a hand to my face and then dropped it. “Out of my reach.”
I closed my eyes for a heartbeat as I let those words burn through me. My world swayed, and not because of the storm outside. I turned away, scared to meet his eyes, and entered the room. There, a pale-faced Miss Bradley paced, surrounded in the rest of our girls.
“Thank Uros you’re here,” she said, upon seeing us. “I just heard from Master Jasper—we’re in some kind of storm. The captain said it came out of nowhere. We’re ordered to stay below.”
“I need to go back out,” Cedric said.
I’d been about to sit and shot back up. “What? It’s dangerous! Now isn’t the time to do something stupid.”
“Adelaide,” scolded Miss Bradley, obviously not aware of the informality between Cedric and me.
“No more stupid than usual,” he replied and disappeared out the door.
I looked around the room, assessing my cohorts. Some stood alone, fighting their fear in their own stoic way. Others huddled in groups, crying and wailing. I did a quick head count and noticed we were one short.
“Mira! Where’s Mira?”
Miss Bradley shook her head, clearly distracted by her own panic. “I don’t know. We’ll just have to hope she took refuge in some other room.”
A sickening feeling—intensified by the almost constant rolling and rocking of the ship—welled up within me. Mira wasn’t in some other room, I was certain of it. She’d probably been on one of her illicit above-deck excursions. She was resourceful—but would she be able to get below in time?
I strode to the door, my gait unsteady. “I have to find her. I have to make sure she’s safe.” I struggled to make my voice heard above the creaking of the ship and wind wailing outside, both of which seemed to be increasing by the minute.
“Adelaide!” exclaimed Miss Bradley. “You will most certainly not!” She took a step toward me, but a wave threw her off-balance. I moved out the door, not looking back.
Getting through the corridor was a terrifying ordeal. The lurching of the ship kept slamming me into the walls, and my progress was slow. My whole world was disordered, and I became more aware than ever that I was in a great expanse of water in a small enclosure of wood. I’d never, ever felt such fear—not even when sneaking out of Osfro. Then, I’d risked the punishment of man. This was the wrath of nature.
I finally reached one of the hatches that allowed access above. I climbed upward and was entirely unprepared for the mighty wind that slammed into me. It pushed me back, sharp and cold with stinging sleet. The sky above us was a sickly greenish-gray, and everything around me was in motion. Sailors ran, following the barked orders of the captain and first mate, grabbing lines and securing loose items. I was soaked in an instant, pushed into a post by another blast of wind. A wave that seemed to reach up to the sky rolled into us, nearly turning the ship on its side. My grip on the pole held me steady, but I saw many sure-footed sailors tossed about, screaming and desperately seeking to hold on to something—anything.
Between the haze of the blowing sleet and the stinging of my eyes, I could barely see. But then, across the deck, I caught sight of a familiar form. Mira sat on the deck, pinned by a large, broken beam that had fallen across her. She was dangerously close to the ship’s edge, giving me a sudden sense of déjà vu to all the times I’d worried about her standing by it. Without hesitation, I hurried to her—as much as I could hurry in such conditions. Most sailors didn’t even notice me in their frantic scrambling, but I got a second glance when I passed Old Lefty.
“What are you doing, girl?” he shouted. “Get below!”
I pointed to Mira. “Get help! You have to get it off her.”
“You get it off her,” he snapped back. “We’ve got to keep this ship from sinking.”